Grounded ship free after 7 hours of tugging

It took four tugboats more than seven hours before the Star of Sawara managed to be freed from the sandbanks in Kadetranden, which the ship sailed into two days ago. The ship must now be investigated for damage before it is allowed to continue to New Orleans.

For seven hours and 35 minutes, four tugboats pushed and pulled the 225-meter long dry cargo ship before they finally managed to get her free at 13.35, confirms the Defense Operations Center.

"Now, the plan is that the rescue company makes a statement to the Danish Maritime Authority that the ship is safe. Then there is a pilot coming on board who will sail the ship to Kalundborg, where a survey is to be conducted," said Michael Horn, the Defense Operations Center, to Maritime Denmark .

The entire operation has been monitored by the environmental ship Gunnar Thorson, and no pollution has been reported in connection with the grounding.

According to the Defense Operations Center, the reason for the grounding was that Star of Sawara was changing course too early. The ship was heading west to traffic separation in the Kadetrenden, thus leaving the deep-sea trench and with its 13-meter draft, it sailed aground.

The ship had chosen to disregard IMO's recommendation that ships with more than 11 meters’ depth should have a pilot on board in Danish waters. The ship was therefore contacted by the Defense Operations Center, reminding the captain of the pilot recommendation on Tuesday as the ship passed Bornholm, but without luck.

According to Maritime Connector, the 76.553 dwt ship is owned by the Panama-registered company, Kashima Naviera, which belongs to the Japanese Chiba Shipping Group. The ship is operated by Pioneer Marine Services, Chennai, India.It is expected to continue towards New Orleans with its fertilizer load when it has been released after the inspection in Kalundborg.